October 17, 2006
6 Month Check-Up
Today, after Olivia's 6 month shots, and then a trip back to the pediatrician later in the day after she developed hives from the flu shot (something about egg in the flu shot and her being allergic), we went to buy Olivia her first baby food. She's tasted rice cereal before and loved it, but this was the first time we made a meal of it. We're going to start veggies in a few days. I didn't want to introduce anything too major while her body is a bit "off" from the shots.
Yes, she is missing a sock. Who knows where it is? Not I. The dog probably ate it. Again. It would be the 3rd one this week.
The cereal is tinted brownish because I put vitamin drops in it. I read that babies absorb vitamin D from the sun, but breastfed babies don't always get enough. Formula fed babies get enough because there's a lot in the formula, but breastfed babies who aren't out in the sun enough-- like down here in the blazing south-- need a vitamin supplement. Anyway, I digress.
I talked to the doctor about why my daughter never naps more than 20 minutes. Why she wakes up every hour or two at night and often can't fall asleep until 2:00 am in the morning. Although he didn't have answers, he assured me that some babies do this and she will grow into a schedule, and that assurance was enough for me. I told him that we had been doing some co-sleeping, something I never intended to do (more on that later). She stil wakes up just as often in our bed, but I can pat her, sush her, and let her know I'm there, and she goes back quickly most of the time. Sometimes she wants to nurse for a bit, but she usually falls asleep before she finishes. He said that if co-sleeping helps her (and us) sleep more, than we should do it. I told him about the little dark circles that often appear under my baby girl's eyes, and he said definitely co-sleep, at least until she is a better sleeper and he recommended some books to help transition her back into her bed at that time.
Today, we took a trip to Target for some Benadryl to help the allergic reaction, and I came away with more than I planned: a new outfit for Olivia, new baby socks (because the poodle keeps eating them), laundry supplies, etc. What is it about that store that makes you buy 10 times what you planned? Have you seen their Halloween stuff? So, so cute!
Ok, time for bed. Nighty night!
P.S. Olivia weighed in at 17 pounds and 8 ounces with a dry diaper on. And she's close to 27 inches. That's about 75th pecentile for height and weight, folks. My little chubbers. :-)
look how blue her eyes is!! :*)
Posted by: feli at October 18, 2006 02:17 AMAww, sorry to her Olivia had a bad reaction to her flu shot~poor baby! It's bad enough that they have to go thru the pain from having the shots but then having a reaction to one!! Glad to hear she's liking the rice cereal~I think she'll do just great~most babies like the food. Thosae pics are adorable~she's such a doll :) I wish I had known about the bumbo seat thingie when Kendall was small~I've never heard of them til recently when I saw fellows bloggers posting about them. Good luck w/her sleeping~like the dr. said, she'll grow into a routine soon! Concerning your Target trip~we're WOMEN, that's how it ALWAYS happens, LOL! And not just in Target either :) Have a great day :)
Posted by: Connie at October 18, 2006 11:53 AMi get to look fwd to that sot at the end of november... joy... but i hope she feels better soon... Lore yelled when she saw little miss O... she saw the same little bowl we used this morning lol...
Posted by: Shannon O. at October 18, 2006 12:02 PMIt's interesting how many people say they never planned to co-sleep and then find themselves doing it. I always thought (and still do) that I would never do it, so I'm curious what I really would/will do in that situation. I guess it's just a case of "you never know" and "do what works for you". :)
I hope she finds a happy schedule soon!
Posted by: Laura at October 18, 2006 02:06 PMI can't get flu shots b/c of a slight egg allergy too; I thought it was pretty uncommon but maybe not. The good thing about this is that my doctor tells me that people with this allergy usually don't get the flu. I've never had it, so I think that says something. Hopefully Olivia will be so lucky.
Hannah, I'm a cosleeper too. Lila hasn't slept in her own bed in...lets see..how old is she...six months! That's right, since she was about two weeks old she's been sleeping with us, and I'm truly not in a hurry to stop. If there was one thing I never thought I'd do as a parent, it's cosleep. It proves that you should never say never. Every once in a while I'll try putting her in her own bed (like last night), but then she starts fussing and I guess I'm a big pushover b/c I just want her to be happy. Keep up that cosleeping if it gives Olivia comfort since she has a tough time with sleeping in general. You can always transition her out when she's a little older.
Posted by: Chas at October 18, 2006 05:57 PMShe's just so cute in those pictures. I love her big blue eyes!
Poor little girl, first getting the needle then having a reaction. I hope it's only related to the vaccination and won't be a problem later on. She sure looks like she's enjoying her cereal.
She is long, I had Ava in for her needles today, she weighs 17lbs and is 26 inches long. She's in the 50th percentile.
Posted by: Emmakirsten at October 18, 2006 07:39 PMAwww ~ I'm so sorry that your little girl had a bad reaction to the flu shot! :( Lucas is due for his sometime soon, but last year when he got one he thankfully didn't have any bad after-effects. I'm hoping that this time will be the same. I hope that she feels better soon! As far as Target goes ... oh yeah, we always end up spending more $$$ there than we'd intended. I love their dollar bins, hehe! :)
Posted by: Lisanne at October 18, 2006 08:33 PM